Where they might end up
by e-Ifrit
Summary: Meredith's the caretaker. Derek knows it all. Lexie needs to stop drinking and Mark... well, he should just wait, cuz he's not to blame this time. This is how I wanted things to develop. Kind of AU.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimers:** Grey's Anatomy characters belongs to their owners. Fanfictions are just for fun and/or a way of coping with the long wait between seasons._

_**AN:** So this is my first Grey's story. It's easy to tell that english is not my first language but I'll try my very best. You guys can correct me if you want, I'll be happy to learn and maybe improve. About any possible OOCness, I should warn you guys it may happen. This story is about how I wanted things to happen, after all. I'll try not to do it too much, though. Well, I'm happy to publish this and honestly hope you like it._

* * *

She drank every night.

She walked away from his life a couple months ago. She meant well though. She just got out of the way of a father and a daughter so they could be a family. She always had this policy of stepping back when she couldn't belong. Walking away, now that hurt like a damn. She made some really dumb decisions back then and couldn't even feel sorry about it. Her sister even tried to talk her out of it, to no avail. Now she's been living with her sister's sorry eyes around her. And by the end of the day she found herself at the same spot on Joe's. So, she drank every night.

"Seriously, I don't get it." - Meredith sighed, watching her sister in sorrow.

Derek took a sip of his scotch in silence.

"I mean... she's bright and shiny. She had this happy upgrowing and whatever. How can she be this broken over... nothing?"

"What do you mean with 'nothing'?" - Derek snapped out of his silence - "She's brokenhearted, it's not 'nothing', Mere..."

"She's young and... and... she barely had time to fall for him, I mean... come on, he's McSteamy! You're not supposed to fall for McSteamy!"

Derek sighed and took her hands to get her attention - "They were in love. They still are. Did you talk to her?"

"I figured she wanted to be left alone. I know I would."

"She's different from you, you know? She's daring, strong minded and hopeful, but completely defenseless. My guess is she's not coming out of this without help."

"Did you talk to her?" - Meredith eyed him suspiciously - "Because you're not supposed to. I'm the sister, you should not beat me to it..."

"No, Mere, I didn't talk to her. Tried to but she's just... I couldn't reach her." - Derek spoke quietly - "But I did talk to Mark. Long conversation and all. He's been miserable but won't budge. Says she's the one who decided to leave him and respects her wishes."

"Wait a minute. Her wishes?" - Meredith's eyes went wide - "What do you mean by that? What wishes? Oh don't tell me... she wanted to... to marry or something?"

"No, look... Mark told me she left him because he invited his daughter to live with them, so they could take care of her baby and all. According to his version, Lexie told him she wasn't ready to raise a kid or play step mom or grandma, whatever that means. And with that she left him."

"Well of course she's not ready, she's kind of a kid herself." - Meredith shrugged - "Besides, it was kinda painful to watch my little sister handing bucks to her boyfriend's daughter who's all grown up and even looks older than her."

"Ok now you're being mean. It's not the world's fault that your sister looks like a sixteen drinking carton juice." - Derek managed to smile as he remembered his mother's comment about 'Mark's lovely girl'.

"Well... we know for a fact that she's not drinking apple juice lately. Who's to take her today?" - Meredith handed his coat and grabbed hers.

"You need to talk to your sister so you're picking her today. I'm going back to the hospital."

"Ok then, see you later."

They kissed briefly and Meredith walked to her mission. She was ready to face some old alcoholic drama queen but when Lexie turned to her, she looked just broken. A broken sixteen who shouldn't be allowed to be out this late. A drunk broken sixteen who should have her ass kicked because she shouldn't be out this late, let alone drinking.

"Come on, Lexie, time to go home."

She offered no resistance. Meredith took her arm and led her out of the bar into the car. She grasped the wheel, still trying to reconcile her feelings about her sister. Maybe that's why she's been so adamant in keeping the distance. Being a sister was no walk in the park after all. Lexie's quiet voice took her out of her reverie.

"You're having a hard time figuring out how to feel about me right now."

"What? No, I..."

"You think I'm overreacting. And you think I'm too young to be like this. You think I shouldn't hurt this much because I barely lived with Mark. You think there was no love between us so I shouldn't be like this."

"Lexie..."

"You think I'm too damn young to be this drunk and broken over a guy. You think I should be grounded for the rest of my life for this."

Meredith actually laughed at her sister's drunken accuracy. Lexie just dished out everything Meredith was feeling. She decided to humor her sister.

"Well.. yeah. You should be grounded until you're 40 for drinking like a sailor and staying out this late, and to top it all, for sleeping with a man who's almost double your age. You should date boys, you're little Grey! Do you know what McSteamy guys do to little Greys? They eat them for breakfast!"

Lexie chuckled at Meredith's mock lecture. - "Well I'm easy breakfast then. After I'm done being grounded can I drink again? Mom?"

They laughed even harder, Meredith gasping for air while Lexie tried to see through her tears and drunken state. Meredith recovered first and decided to ask the lethal question.

"Lexie... what happened?"

Lexie looked down at her hands. The gesture and the dejected look in her sister's face almost made Meredith regret the question.

"I can't get over Mark." - She spoke almost to herself - "Pathetic as it sounds, I just can't. Been trying so much in so many ways I'm sure you disapprove..."

"Yeah... well, can't really blame you for anything though." - Meredith countered.

"Anyway, I suck at getting over. I can't. That's it." - Lexie concluded her thoughts.

"Except that was not what I asked." - Meredith tried again - "I asked what happened as in why did you left Mark if you love him this much."

"I had to. You know, when you can't be what someone needs you should just back off. That's what I did. I backed off. I can't be a step mother, I can't be a grandmother, I was barely ready to move in with him. I know it seems like I'm whining but I swear I've never hurt like this over something that should be so simple... but I can't, I just can't accomplish... I'm not a good partner, I don't know how to do this and I don't know if I can. There, that's why I left him. He's a father now, and a grandfather, he deserves better."

Meredith nodded her head in agreement. She wanted to tell her sister that everything would be alright but that would be some big fat lie.

"So, Derek's right once again. You and Mark... you're both miserable." - Meredith's simple statement made Lexie finally look up to her.

"Mark has moved on. He's with doctor Altman now and she's a very grown up woman." - Lexie stated.

"According to Derek, Mark is actually miserable. And as for I've heard, Teddy is a very grown up woman who doesn't want anything serious at the moment." - Meredith answered, surprisingly comfortable with this new big sister role.

"Well, he also slept with doctor Montgomery."

"Didn't they all? We might as well do it too, you know, just to fill the pot already." - Meredith chuckled at her own lame joke then turned serious again - "Lexie, you slept with Alex not a day after you left him."

"I was drunk. And I was trying to remember what girls my age should be doing, you know, jello shots and stupid things..."

"Well I think you should just remember why you choose him in the first place. I don't recall you complaining about the lack of 'girl's your age' stuff."

"Says the one who wanted to ground me for life for sleeping with an elder." - Lexie mocked with a sad smile.

"You know I didn't mean it. At first I did. I've never wanted you to become McSteamy's breakfast, I even made Derek warn him off."

"'Little Sloan is not to enter Little Grey'. Yeah, I've heard this story. Creepy, you know? And it's 'big' Sloan, by the way."

"Too much info, Lex." - Meredith snorted - "Well, my point is, why won't you try? You're supposed to be the bright and shiny one who always dares to move. Mark won't go after you because he thinks he's respecting your wishes to be away from him and his life. But he's miserable and probably missing you like hell."

"What if he's not? What if he's already with someone else? I messed up, Meredith, and I can't even imagine how to fit into his life as it is."

"You know what? I'm done talking. As much as I'm enjoying being the wise big sister I have to stop now, my head hurts and you're so drunk you can't put two and two together. We're going home and you're going to think it over."

"But..."

"We're going home. To sleep. And from now on you are going straight home after your shift. No more drinks for you, understood?"

Lexie shook her head in disbelief. - "So I am grounded for life."

"Just until you get yourself together." - Meredith smiled warmly - "Put the seatbelt, we're leaving now."

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_I'm not sure it ends here but... well thank you for reading. See ya!_


	2. Chapter 2

_I'd like to thank you guys for the reviews, it's so nice to know there are people enjoying it here... makes me freakin' happy. Thank you all. xoxo_

_an: I have to tell you this: I am a huge Slexie shipper. Almost as much as I am a MerDer and CAlzona shipper. I'm helpless. But this story here? It's about all the support I'd like to see on the show, because they're all so compassionate and suportive but they also can't seem to reach some of the "strays" with it. There it is, I'm writing this because a) I miss the show like hell and can't wait for SP7 and b) I'd sooo love to see some Derek/Mark and Meredith/Cristina/Lexie interaction. I'd even put Izzie along but she's not there anymore so... enough of me babbling, on with the story!_

* * *

A month passed by and Meredith kept her word on watching over her sister. She managed to end her shifts the same time as Lexie's almost every day and when she couldn't she would trust Cristina to keep an eye on her. Yang still felt uncomfortable around this newfound sisterhood but as far as she was concerned Three would not see trouble in any color or shape. She stuffed the intern with work until she had no energy left. Then she would use some excuse like having to leave something at Meredith's to drop her home.

Today was different though. Meredith was stuck in surgery for almost 12 hours and Cristina had to scrub in with Teddy to tend to a GSW. Lexie managed to finish the last rounds and updated the respective charts. Now she was at the intern's locker room, looking at her feet and trying to gather some energy to change and drag herself home. Actually she enjoyed being this tired, it usually meant that she would be out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

In her sleep she wouldn't think about how she wasted the one good thing she had away by being stupid. She wouldn't be looking for ways of numbing the searing pain she felt every time she thought back. She was on one huge bad-finger phase, as if anything she'd do would just screw everything up. So, sleep was the best thing to do.

She lifted herself from the bench and changed, folding her uniform carefully and closing her locker. Stretching her neck one last time, she left the dark room to the relatively empty hall. She was almost happy to be going home alone for a change but someone up there wouldn't just leave her be. Her eyes caught a glimpse of Teddy Altman's blonde hair being removed from her back so Mark's large (and as she remembered so well, warm) hands could massage her shoulders and neck. They were at the nurse's station and obviously wouldn't notice her passing by but Cristina did. She walked intently in her direction, purse and coat already on.

"Let's go, Three, I have to pass by Mere's to get my bad ass leather jacket back." - Cristina practically dragged Lexie out, not even looking back.

"Doctor Yang..." - Lexie tried to whisk herself off Cristina's hands, to no avail.

"Come on, it's freezing, let's get in the car already!"

"Doctor Yang... Cristina!" - Lexie stopped on her tracks - "I appreciate the offer but if you don't mind I'd really like to go home by myself today."

Yang eyed her suspiciously for a moment, until she decided that being alone wasn't something her intern was going to get tonight.

"I do mind, get in the car." - Cristina took her arm again.

"Hey... HEY!" - Lexie yelled indignantly - "What do you think you're doing?"

Cristina stared at her annoyed - "I'm taking you home."

"I was going home already, you didn't have to drag me, you know?"

"Actually I do." - Cristina countered - "You're going straight home. No tequila for you. No bars. No sulking. Period."

"What... why? Seriously? I was going home, to sleep!"

"Seriously?" - Yang finally looked at her, exasperated - "I saw Sloan and Teddy back there and I know you saw it too. You must be pathetically hurting about it right now and people like you usually feast on tequila and self-pity about things like this."

"Come on, do you think I really need this? You, telling me how pathetic I am? I already know that! But I also know right from wrong and I was not going to get stoned about anything, dammit! Now can you please leave me to go home alone, by myself, so I can be a normal person just for today?"

Cristina was about to just drag her to the car when she saw Mark approaching them.

"Yang. Grey." - he studied them both, taking on their tension and exasperated faces - "Everything alright here?"

"Yes. We're off. Come on, Grey." - Cristina just wanted this day to be over already.

Mark narrowed his eyes at this. Lexie had this passive-aggressive look on her face - the one he knew so well - and it told him she was being dragged around. He didn't like it a bit.

"Lexie?" - He would at least try to offer her an out.

Cristina rolled her eyes at his attempt.

"Back off, Sloan. Three here? She's grounded. I'm responsible for getting her home in one piece tonight and I'm doing it now."

"Grounded.. as in...?"

"Grounded. You've heard me. Now back off, we're leaving." - Cristina took Lexie's arm and actually took off this time, leaving a very stunned Mark behind.

Lexie just buckled her seatbelt and kept to herself. If she was lucky they would make it quickly and she would be asleep on her bed soon enough. She stole a glance at Cristina, still mortified about being told by her in front of Mark. A very annoyed Cristina turned to her.

"Stop sulking, Three. You'll get rid of me in no time." - She rolled her eyes in annoyance - "Jeez!"

"You didn't have to humiliate me like that you know?"

"I didn't. You're seriously grounded by your sister, who happens to be my person. And if my person says I'm to keep you from being stupid and pathetic then that's what I'm doing."

Lexie sighed. It was useless anyway.

Derek and Meredith were just leaving the hospital when they spotted Mark standing in the middle of the parking lot. It seemed off because he should be gone for a while now, his last surgery being finished long before theirs. He turned as they walked to him.

"Hey Mark. Thought you'd be off long ago..." - Derek watched as his friend took both hands on his pockets.

"I was..." - Mark looked at the couple in front of him, Meredith's watchful eyes never leaving his - "I know it's none of my business, not anymore, but... what's with Little Grey being 'grounded'? Is it a code for something wicked or... is she stitching herself again?"

Meredith felt trapped. She didn't want to discuss her sister with Mark at all. She was getting along fine with the big sister role but not as far as talking to her sister's ex about it. Derek felt her tension and immediately stepped in.

"Why don't you go ahead..." - He whispered at her - "... and we meet home? I've got this."

Derek gave her a peck on the lips and they parted. Then he turned to Mark, who still had this concerned look in his face.

"You up for a drink?" - Derek offered - "I can tell you things and I'm sure you're dying to know but I need to do it over scotch."

Mark nodded. Derek was right as always. He was indeed dying to know about Lexie, how she was really coping and everything. Every time they talked it was brief, mostly on professional ground. They almost had a shot of personal conversation once when he caught her sitting with his daughter after her last appointment. They were talking friendly, Sloane's eyes shining as she seemed to tell something really exciting while Lexie smiled warmly at her. When she left the exam room they met and talked briefly. She said Sloane was so happy about the possibility of college and he had to ruin the good conversation starter by asking her how she could now be friends with his daughter when she couldn't stand the girl before. Way to go, Mark, thumbs up.

Mark was still battering himself mentally when they entered Joe's. Derek walked by him without a word. They took a seat and Joe poured them 'the usual' almost immediately.

"Is it good or bad?" - Mark asked absently.

"What?"

"When you're served your usual drink without even having to ask?"

Derek shook his head, smiling.

"It depends. Maybe we've been drinking too much. Maybe Joe just knows us too well."

Mark shrugged. He wanted to know everything Derek had to tell about Lexie but he felt wrong about it. He had no right.

"Mark?" - Derek looked at his friend - "You're making that face."

"What face?"

"The one you make when you're beating yourself up over something you're not supposed to." - Derek watched as Mark lifted his eyes from the glass - "What's on your mind?"

"I'm... what's happening to Lexie?"

Derek let out a small laugh. Those two were a number, really.

"Well you know already. She's grounded."

"What is it that you all decided to treat her like a damn child? Yang has just dragged her home, for God's sake..." - Mark's jaws set when Derek chuckled - "It's not funny, not at all!"

"Well..." - Derek tried to stifle a laugh - "it kinda is. You see, Meredith's finally being a sister. I know she's being a little too much but I also think Lexie needs it right now."

"She needs what? Meredith and Cristina dragging her home or whatever else?"

"They care, Mark. They're not good at this caring thing but they do, and that's how they're taking care of her." - Derek could see Mark wasn't buying it and decided to be more specific - "She's been drinking. A lot. And doing some pretty stupid things too."

"Drinking a lot. Well, we both drink a lot, I don't really see a problem here."

"Mark. There was a lot of drinking. Like self destructive enormous amount of drinking." - Derek stated, now very serious - "Every night. I've had to pick her here, completely wasted, more times than I can count. And so has Meredith. She was miserable and I can't even imagine how she managed to function properly at work."

"I thought she was doing fine... I mean, at work." - Mark turned to Derek, concern all over his face - "But what about now? Is she doing better?"

"No more drinking, that much I can guarantee. But she's not over you if that's what you wanna know." - Derek took a sip of his glass - "Neither are you."

"I have too much going on right now, besides, I'll be just fine. It's not the first time I'm turned down." - Mark gave a half-hearted smile. Joe poured him another shot.

"Mark, you're not ok. She's not ok either. Why won't you just talk to her already? I'm pretty sure she'd hear you out and maybe you could put it all behind and start over?" - Derek tried once again to put some sense into his friend's head.

"She's the one who left me, how many times do I have to repeat myself? Derek?" - Mark let out an exasperated sigh - "I don't really expect you to understand this but it hurt so fucking much when she left me exactly when I finally found it in me to be a father, a grandfather, and I needed her so fucking much, I wanted to do it with her! It hurts me to no end Derek, and I can't even blame her for leaving me, she's just too damn young to bear this thing!"

Derek just stared at his friend surprised at his outburst. He had this conversation with him before but that was the first time Mark admitted how hurt he was that Lexie stepped out of their relationship just when he needed her the most. Hell that was the first time he admitted he needed her altogether.

"Besides, she slept with Karev." – Mark collected himself quickly as he downed almost all of his drink at once.

"Now that's something…" – Derek shook his head in annoyance – "…you know, you guys cancelled each other. You slept with Addison in LA. More than once and you know how I know that."

"She also slept with Karev more than once. They're a freaking couple as far as I know." – Mark retorted.

"You're sleeping with doctor Altman for a while too." – Derek watched as Joe poured Mark another one and shoot him a tired look – "She thinks you've moved on so she feels like she has to do the same."

Mark narrowed his eyes at Derek.

"Have you talked to Lexie, I mean, really talked to her? Because if you did…" – Mark made an awkward face at his friend – "This is totally weird. You're not supposed to have heart talks with Little Grey. You already have your Grey. Big Grey, that's yours."

"And the little one is yours, blah blah, I know. " – Derek laughed – "I didn't have a heart talk with Lexie. She's not much of a talker when it comes to me."

"She talked to me. About everything." - Mark looked through his now empty glass – "We shared a lot of things. She's a talker… but she's a really good listener, you know? She's good at hearing people out and making them feel ok to go and get through things…"

Another new development to Derek: Mark never talked about how things really were with Lexie. It was as if since Derek and Meredith didn't want him anywhere near Lexie at first, he would never share anything about their relationship with him. So, they made up later but Derek never heard anything about them from Mark. That night was a first. Plus, Mark was becoming clearly drunk at his fourth shot. Kind of early for his standards, by the way.

"She's a sweet and very caring person." – Derek mused – "And you should suck it up and just talk to her. You clearly want her back, so does she."

"It's not that simple."

"Care to tell me why? Your daughter has decided to give her baby for adoption. She's going to college as soon as she's ok again. To me it means no grandkid to scare Little Grey's pants off. The only thing left would be if she didn't get along with Sloane, which I know it's not…"

"They've never got along… there was always a fight." – Mark retorted – "There was always something Sloane did or didn't, their relationship sucked."

"She was always telling on your daughter because she cared. She wouldn't give a damn if Sloane burnt the apartment or never ever thought about studying or being something else than a pretty face out there if she didn't care." – Derek felt like he had to explain every single thing but no one listened.

"They get along now. How ironic it is?" – Mark snorted – "Now that she has nothing to do with anything she decided to be friends with my kid. And I'm so stupid I couldn't even appreciate this."

"How's that?" – Derek curiosity took over.

"They were talking the other day." – Mark gulped the last of his drink and signaled for Joe to pour him another one – "Sloane had her first third trimester US. I was going in to the exam room when I saw them there, talking. They were happy, comfortable with each other. And when Lexie left the room we talked a bit outside. That was the first time we talked about something that hadn't procedures and medical topics involved. And I screwed up by questioning why she was now friends with my daughter."

"Well that's harsh."

"Tell me about it. Now how do you think I'll ever be able to have this woman back in my life, if all I do is push her away?"

Derek looked at him puzzled. Normally he wouldn't dare to meddle with Mark's relationships, they used to keep their stuff away from each other but maybe this time he would make an exception.

"I don't have all the answers, but I can tell you, it's gonna be okay." – Derek stood and left some dollars for the drinks, taking his friend by the arm – "And we're out, it's enough for today. Come on."

"What are you doing, are you grounding me or something?"

"No, stupid, I'm just giving you a ride. It's either me or a cab."

* * *

_So I've decided to make it a little longer. I'd like to thank you guys for reading this and encouraging me to keep going with the story. I don't really know where this might end up (what can I do, the story goes after its title...) but that's how I usually write things, I just like to let it flow and hope for the best. I'm happy to see that there's people enjoying this and I'll try and keep up. Thank you again!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Here's one more piece. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy it. I know I do... LOL_

* * *

Meredith found Cristina in her living room just as expected. She knew half the story already, besides she did ask her friend to take Lexie home since she wouldn't be able to do that herself. Cristina didn't bother to say hello as she got up from her spot and began to leave.

"She's upstairs and she's pissed. I'd be too, you know? You're taking this big sister thing a bit too far. She's not a freaking kid."

Meredith just shot her best friend a pleading look but got nothing, Cristina picked her so-called bad-ass leather jacket from the hanger and threw her a half smile as she left.

"Well I guess I'm on my own. Again." – Meredith sighed and went upstairs.

"Lexie?" – She knocked – "Can I come in?"

Lexie opened her door and let her sister in. She walked back and sat heavily at the bed. Meredith just watched her for a minute.

"I know you're pissed." – Meredith started and sat beside her – "And I'm sorry. I suck at being supportive. I'm just trying to…"

"You're trying to protect me and I get it." – Lexie looked warmly at her sister – "Meredith I'll be alright. You have to believe that. I don't want you to waste your time looking after me."

"But you need to be looked after! You're prone to screw things up lately, you're self destructing over…" – Meredith countered a bit too harshly for her own liking – "Look, I know I suck at this, we all do. Me, Cristina, Derek, even Alex, we're a bunch of crappy caretakers but we do look after each other, that's how we do things here."

"Meredith…"

"Okay, Derek's not one of the crappy ones, he's actually good at supporting people, but since you won't talk to him and I'm relieved about it 'cause it would be too weird…"

"Mere…" – Lexie was starting to get weirded by her sister's babbling.

"…now I know it sounds corny and hypocritical but you're one of us now. You're stuck with us. Not just with me. So you're gonna have to suck it up for a while until we're comfortable to leave you be. Okay?"

Lexie was touched. Even though the still felt humiliated about the way Cristina handled her in front of Mark she couldn't help the feeling of gratitude. For all of them. She completely forgot the previous anger and did what she was used to do. She hugged her sister, quickly so she wouldn't scare her off, but she needed to do that. Meredith just stared at her for a moment then she asked tentatively.

"So… not mad anymore?"

"No, Mere. And I promise I'll deal with things right so you and everybody else won't have to worry about my crap, okay?"

"We're always worrying about our crap, it's the regular thing around here. You should be used to it already." – Meredith chuckled.

"Yeah I know. But we suck at being supportive."

"Well, not all of us suck. I've already told you Derek's one of the good ones. You are good too. That makes two good supportive heads out of five." – Meredith had a faraway look as she kept musing – "It would be dreamland if we still had George and Izzie around. Then the bright and shiny people would outnumber the dark and twisted ones."

"Yeah that would be something…" – Lexie joined her sister's view for a while – "I wonder if Mark has someone to talk to, I mean, not someone to sleep with 'cause he obviously have no trouble getting it but, you know, we talked two or three times and I think he's bitter and overly harsh and it can't be healthy…"

"Lexie, he has someone. He has Derek. And Callie. And he needs to get over himself just as you do." – Meredith saw her sister's questioning look and decided to share something she knew would comfort her – "I left Derek with him. Chances are they're having a good talking right now. And we should sleep, rounds start at four tomorrow. Get some rest, ok?"

"Same to you." – Lexie smiled as her sister left – "Thank you Mere."

Meredith smiled back at her and left the room. She descended the stairs and found Derek coming in. She walked to him and he could tell she wanted him to spill.

"How's Lexie?"

"Getting ready to sleep. How's… Mark?"

"Getting ready to sleep, I hope."

Derek walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Meredith kept staring at him and he sent her a silent question.

"What? Hum… sure Lexie is fine?"

"Yes, she's fine. But she keeps wondering if Mark has someone to talk to because as she says, he's been bitter and harsh and it can't be healthy…" – Meredith recalled her sister's words.

"You can tell her I've got this covered." – Derek answered.

"Done that."- Meredith stated – "Now that you had a good talk with your friend… maybe you can tell me how my sister knows about his nasty mood when she can't seem to get hers on check?"

"Well we all know that they still have to work together occasionally and…" – Derek let out a sigh – "and she's been talking to Mark's daughter. They seem to be in touch for some reason."

"You mean, they're like friends or something?"

"Or something." – Derek stated – "I don't think they're actually friends but… friendly, that's the word I'd put for it."

"How in hell would Lexie be friendly to that girl when she wrecked everything around since she came along?" – Meredith was appalled.

"I don't know, it's just… she cares. Mark told me his daughter wants to go to college. You know, after she recovers from the birth and all. And apparently that's on Lexie. Maybe all the bickering and fighting had some effect in the end."

"She cares." – Meredith repeated to herself.

"Yes."

"She cares."

"Why are you surprised? I think it fits."

"It might fit but I still don't get it. That girl basically destroyed my sister's love life, she shouldn't care about her at all."

Derek shook his head slightly annoyed. Sometimes it could be too hard to get into his wife's thick head. But he wouldn't give up so soon.

Alex choose this exact moment to appear into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and got himself a bottle of beer, nodding some kind of hello and seating on his usual spot, the bench next to the sink. Izzie's former spot. When the couple shot him a glance, he just snorted a ghost of a smile.

"What?" – When none of them talked he continued – "I know you're talking about Lexipedia's latest drama, which I think is pretty nasty since she's not even here to defend herself… what did she do this time? I swear I've been out of her bed as you asked me to so nicely."

"I appreciate it Alex." – Meredith answered blankly.

"So, what's on? Did she had a close call with doctor Sloan again?" – Alex gulped some of his beer.

"Close call? What are you talking about?" – Meredith asked, alarmed, then looked at Derek – "What is he talking about? Derek?"

"Dude, you need to chill." – Alex snorted – "The other day she was talking to that blonde chick and Sloan called her on it. She ran off pretty upset but didn't wanted to talk about it so I let that pass."

"She never told me anything about it." – Meredith looked from Alex to Derek – "Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Well maybe she's not comfortable about some things she does." – Derek said quietly – "Mark told me something about it tonight. He feels sorry about it, about his behavior."

"Now it's one more thing I can't understand, why won't they just get back together? There won't be raising up grandbaby since blondie's giving up her baby and going to college at some point and they're friendly now…"

"I think…" – Derek intervened – "I think their problem now is way past Mark's daughter or raising babies. Now it's a matter of Mark getting over Lexie's little slip with Karev here…"

"Hey! Totally not fair dude!" – Alex shouted from his spot – "The whole hospital knows he's been sleeping with Altman and he also slept with doctor Montgomery, again. She's way back on the run as she only did me. Plus we even tried to make a relationship and all."

Meredith wanted to laugh at Alex's defense but held it. Derek only shrugged a retort.

"Well he seems to take things in a different light."

"Then he's a stupid jerk." – Alex's response was curt as he discarded the empty bottle and stood to leave – "He's an idiot if he can't just come get his girl and be a freaking happy duck. She seriously deserves better."

Meredith watched her friend going upstairs then looked over to Derek, who stared at her dumbfounded.

"You know he's right."

"Yeah. We know and believe me, Mark knows it too."

* * *

_Well... in my twisted sixth season Derek wants to help, Meredith wants to help... even Alex wants to help, plus, yeah, I so wish Izzie and George would be still around... they're so needed and I miss them. Ookay, I'll stop that. Thank you again guys. See ya next week! xoxo_


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm really excited about this story and how people seem to enjoy it. I'd like to thank you all, specially the ones who took their time to leave me a hello in the review box. Really, it makes my day! xoxo_

* * *

Mark couldn't recall the last time he felt like this. Either he was coming down with whatever was around or he could just be having some unusual form of hangover. He practically dragged himself to work today and the pouring outside combined with the day's prospect tasted like promised hell. People seemed to know better than to stay on his way as he walked right to the nurse's station. He mumbled some sort of good morning to the head nurse and began to flip through his charts. A throbbing headache was giving him hell already as he remembered about his daughter's appointment right before lunch. He cringed at the thought.

"Here, you look like you need it." - Callie handed him her coffee and smiled sympathetically at his worn face - "Are you ok?"

He nodded as he took a sip. Callie narrowed her eyes at him, not buying it at all. She caught his arm and warned him through her smile – "You look like hell. Now walk with me or you'll be dragged."

He didn't complain. They entered the first vacant on-call room and once inside Callie closed the blinds, watching him sit heavily on the mattress. He ran his hands through his hair and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay. Spill."

"I feel like shit." – Mark mumbled, hands still covering his face – "Sloane's coming here today for her follow up."

"What are you feeling?" – Callie approached him and felt his forehead with her lips – "You're not feverish. What about Sloane? Kid's giving you trouble again?"

"My stomach feels funny and my head hurts. And Sloane's ok. It's just…" – Mark breathed out tiredly – "I just wish I could skip the appointment/lunch routine this time. And I know I'm a jerk for feeling like that but… to top it all there'll be little Grey around because now they're kind of friends and I kind of shove her off the last time I saw them together..."

"I see." – Callie looked at him thoughtfully - "Well, maybe you're coming down with the flu. Now it can't be healthy for a pregnant woman to be around you today, you could pass her whatever it is that you seem to have."

Callie was giving him a perfectly plausible out. Mark considered her offer but thought about his previous talk with Derek. He should get over himself already. Either he was over Lexie or he was getting her back. No more running, no more pushing her around, no more avoiding. And it led him to another point: no more Teddy. But there's only so much he could handle for the day.

"No." – He stood and recomposed himself – "I need to fix this. I'll be with my daughter for her exam then we'll have lunch. And if little Grey feels like joining us that's ok too." – Then he added with a smaller voice – "You'd be also very welcome to join us if you can find the time..."

"I'll try my best to be there." – Callie chuckle became laughter and Mark frowned at her.

"Now what's so funny Torres?" – Mark narrowed his eyes at her.

"You know it's been a while since I've heard you calling her little Grey…" – Callie couldn't help but laugh at his annoyance – "it's a creepy nickname, you realize that? Kinda makes us think about her, um... about little things."

"Stop talking about little Grey's little things!" – He was beyond annoyed but ended up infected by Callie's laughter – "Ok, you just made it sound creepy. Thank you for ruining a perfect nickname."

"You're the only one who liked it anyway." – Callie wiped tears from her eyes, still chuckling – "Okay, so I'll try to make some time so I'll be with you guys for lunch."

"I appreciate that." – Mark stood and gave her a peck on the cheek – "Now I really have to go, I'm already behind on my schedule." – He eyed her warmly – "Thank you. Really. You're a life saver."

"That's what friends are for. And I'd hate to see you being an idiot and ruining everything again, so I'll pinch you really hard if you don't behave. Be warned."

Mark smiled at her mock-threat and held the door open for her to come out. He actually felt a little bit better now that he had set his mind on what he thought as the right thing to do. Good thing he would have Callie to back him up on this, though.

xxx

Lexie quickened her pace as she walked through the OB wing. She had 20 minutes according to the surgeries board. It should be enough for her to visit and get the hell out of there before anyone could see her. She spent most of her night telling herself that she needed to just get over whatever happened between her and Mark (Now doctor Sloan, she had to remind herself all the time) and move on with her life. All she wanted was to be able to exist properly around him, maybe be friends again (Were they ever friends before? She couldn't tell), because that's how she lived her life. No enemies, no hurtful thoughts, no sorrow over things that were over.

She was also tired of being the poor little self destructing thing whose crap everyone around had to worry about, so she wouldn't maybe end up drunk and ran-over by a bus on her way home.

She was out of breath by the time she reached the waiting room. Sloane waved at her, smiling happily. She put on her best smile and went to sit by the girl.

"Were you running a marathon or something?" – The girl joked as she took in Lexie's flushed appearance.

"No I'm just short of time, that's all." – Lexie noticed something off about Sloane's smile – "Are you ok? You seem kinda nervous… is everything alright?"

"No, I'm… well, I was wondering if you'd like to, um, maybe have lunch with me?" – Sloane asked nervously – "You see, I have this bunch of things to choose about college next semester and I can't… well I've never done this before, I know next to nothing about this stuff and… I was wondering if you'd help me out…"

No, she couldn't have lunch. Having lunch with Sloane meant having lunch with her father who surely wouldn't want her around. But she felt bad. The girl was clearly seeking her help, maybe even looking up to her. Now that was just wrong. She was nobody, a fetus as Mark pointed out once, not someone to be looked up by anyone. But the girl was asking her help and she'd be damned before she could turn anyone down like this.

Then again she was the one with the 'you have to grow up to be someone, you need to study, you need to be something in your life' lectures. That's what you get when you stick your nose where you're not supposed to.

"Ok, I'll join you for lunch and you can tell me about it." – Lexie cringed at the thought but smiled bravely.

"Riley, Sloane." – A nurse called from one of the exam's room.

"That would be me." – Sloane stood from her seat – "Wait for me here? I'll be out in a few."

Lexie nodded and smiled again. She saw Mark walking in the hall. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad if she kept quiet. Last time he snapped because she was all about how Sloane was excited about college. She sighed and braced herself for the next few minutes.

"Hey."

Mark sat by her and offered a smile. She did the same but maybe her eyes betrayed her, because he became serious almost immediately. She wanted to flee already but thought back at her last night musings. She needed to get over this.

Mark kept watching her intently. He could tell she was very uncomfortable, though she was smiling beautifully. Her eyes had a frightened shimmer and she was twisting her finger, not just fidgeting. It hurt him to see how his presence was causing it. He felt miserably sick all over again, even worse than he was when he came in to work. She caught him looking and her expression changed in a flash.

"Are you ok?" – She asked, concern now all over her face – "You're so pale…"

"I'm…" – He leaned over to her side and grabbed the small trashcan beside her chair.

Lexie watched in worry as he retched into the trashcan. She touched the back of his neck to try and feel his temperature. A nurse approached them and handed her a cloth and a cup of water. Lexie thanked her and turned back to Mark, who was now spent at his chair, an embarrassed look on his face.

"You're running a fever." – Lexie informed him and wiped his face with the cloth. – "Here, drink some."

"Thanks." – He took a sip of the water she gave him - "I'm sorry."

"What for? You're sick, nothing to be sorry for." – Lexie smiled at him, still watching him for any new symptom.

"No, really, I'm sorry. I've been a jerk around you and, and… and…" – He really needed to talk but it was proving to be very difficult at the moment – "I'm sorry. I don't get sick like this since college. I don't get sick. And I need to tell you that I'm…"

"Mark it's ok. You just need to go home, get some rest. It seems you've got the flu." – Lexie noticed how worn out he seemed to be.

"But I need to see my daughter, we're having lunch after …" – He replied but Lexie intervened again.

"Don't worry, I'll be with her. She invited me for lunch anyway. You go home and get some rest."

Her imperative tone made him want to just crawl into her lap but he knew he couldn't. Not right now. But it set his mind at ease to see how she quickly went back to caring about him, as if nothing bad had happened between them. Almost as if she still felt something for him. She stood from the chair and took one of his arms, pulling him up with her.

"Come on, I'll put you in a cab."

She started walking with him when she saw Callie walking into the hall.

"Hey, what's happening?" – Callie looked from Lexie to Mark, noticing how pale and wobbly he was – "Are you ok?"

"He's sick. He just threw up and has a pretty high fever from what I've felt." – Lexie answered.

"The flu." – Callie muttered.

"Doctor Torres can you get him home?" – Lexie asked – "I need to wait here for Sloane, she wants to have lunch and…"

"Oookay," – Callie looked at her suspiciously – "He has no business infecting the whole hospital with whatever it is that he caught anyway."

"Hey, I'm right here!" – Mark spoke indignantly.

"Shut up." – Callie warned him – "I'll take him home. Tell Sloane I said hello."

"Thank you doctor Torres." – Lexie smiled, her eyes stopped at Mark's for a minute – "You take care." – She told him warmly.

As they walked away Callie looked at Mark and smiled knowingly. He turned to her curiously and her smile got wider.

"I understand you've fallen into her good graces again?"

"I wish." – Mark smiled defeated – "I almost threw up on her shoes, Torres. It's a shameful situation."

"Well I bet she's worried sick about you right now." – Callie smiled at his embarrassed face – "And I saw her all around you. She lo-ooves you still..." – Callie sang.

"That was she being sorry for me because I'm sick."

"Come on, let's get you home already." – Callie pulled him closer to make him walk faster with her – "I swear you guys are clueless, my God!"

* * *

_I'm working on them getting back together but I don't think I'm ready for it yet. That's why it's taking so long, I'm sorry. It's because I looove to meddle with the way the others may see their situation, really. That's not something we see on the show so I'll have my fun here. Thank you guys for bearing with me, though. I seriously hope you're having fun too._


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello there! I'm back... new season is on and I'm all excited about it. Really, I'm in awe with how much our dear doctors are grown ups now, even when they're still messed up... makes me love them even more! Now, here it goes, another piece of story! xoxo_

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"Why is my sister over there with Mark Sloan's daughter?"

Cristina and Alex looked up at Meredith, who had a quite annoyed expression.

"Hum… they're having this thing called lunch?" – Cristina half joked.

"Lunch?" – Meredith sat and began ripping her sandwich wrapping – "Seriously? I swear I'll never get what goes through Lexie's head."

"Lexipedia is friendly." – Alex munched his hot dog absently – "She's friends with the girl same way she's friends with everybody else."

"She's too friendly for her own good. That scene over there? Totally wrong. And weird." – Meredith stated, still frustrated – "That girl means nothing but trouble. Why didn't you do anything?"

"She's okay. We've been keeping an eye on her, and she's doing fine so far." – Cristina reasoned and Alex nodded his head in agreement – "There's laughter and some kind of happy conversation I cannot grasp from here, but it seems ok."

"But…"

"Look, I don't actually like to harass people. Professionally? Hell yeah, it makes my shiny day. But personally I rather have them happy. I do not like to disturb peaceful environments. And that over there is a quite peaceful thing for Three right now. So, let's just have lunch and keep an eye on them from here, okay?"

Meredith was astonished. She wanted to keep things right for her sister but it was proving to be a very delicate and difficult thing to do. All the time she felt like she was overdoing it but Lexie never seemed to call her on it. Maybe her friends were right.

"I know what you're thinking." – Alex showed her one of his rare understanding looks – "You think you need to watch her every move, keep her from things and whatever else. That's not the way to be supportive. You can worry alright but you need to let her be or she won't ever bounce back."

"But what if Mark walks in right now and catch her talking to his kid again? You said he was mean to her the last time, I won't have him doing it again and I don't care what Derek thinks!" – Meredith said and looked around worriedly.

"Dude, relax! McSteamy went home sick. I saw Doctor Torres leaving with him and one of the nurses told me he was puking all over the OB ward." – Alex stifled a laugh – "And you won't like to hear about who took care of him…"

Meredith and Cristina looked expectantly at him. He started to unwrap his cake and smiled at them mockingly. He felt a kick under the table and frowned at them both.

"Stop being an ass and tell me already." – Meredith warned and took a large piece of his cake. – "Oh come on, she didn't…"

He nodded. Meredith was appalled. Cristina was just wide eyed.

"Why in hell would she do that?"

"She's certainly someone who would help an asshole on his time of need. You should've known that by now." – Alex smiled his answer, knowing it would annoy Meredith to no end.

"I swear I don't get it. Really. Not even the friendly thing can justify it. I mean, it's like she might throw herself at a bus anytime for all I know…"

"George threw himself at a bus to save a stranger." – Cristina stated.

"That's… that's… that's just wrong! Cristina!" – Meredith shook her head in disbelief – "You can't compare…"

"Yes I can. George was friendly. Three is friendly. That's what they do."

"That's not the point here." – Alex cut their argument and looked gravely at Meredith – "I'll tell you again, let your sister be. She's an adult and she's okay. Sometimes is good to take a fall. Makes us stronger and all that crap…"

"Alright but I'll still talk to her about it."

"Lunch's over, you do it at home with no audience please." – Cristina scolded and stood, taking Meredith with her – "Come on, let's get to work."

xxx

"Don't you have anything healthy here? You're a doctor for Christ's sake!" – Callie yelled from the kitchen.

"Can you yell louder so my head can burst quicker?" – Mark hissed.

"Here, drink this." – Callie handed him a glass of water and a pill – "It should help with the headache."

Mark drank in large gulps. It proved to be a very bad move: Callie had no time to escape.

"Very manly, Mark!" – She yelled indignantly – "Those were my fancy sneakers, dammit!"

"I'm sorry…" – He groaned, feeling more faint than ever – "I'm sorry I didn't mean to…"

"Don't move." – She stopped him from trying to get up – "I'll take care of this. Holy shit, Mark, how did you get this bad?"

She looked down at him in worry. The shrill of her pager reminded her that she was supposed to be at the hospital half an hour ago. She wasn't ok with the idea of letting him alone. And they didn't even discuss where Sloane was going to crash, he surely was in no shape to keep her.

"Listen, I really have to go but I'll have someone here in a few. You won't be alone for long. What about Sloane? Is she spending the night?"

"No, her mother's supposed to pick her at the hospital after lunch." – Mark squinted his eyes, his headache was getting worse – "I'll be ok by myself, I think I just need to sleep it off."

"Shut up. I'll send someone. You stay put."

She finished cleaning the mess – actually she was throwing away the rug as it was all puked over, along with her sneakers – and took his shoes off, making him lay down completely at the couch. She covered him with the throw blanket and smiled as she watched him close his eyes, mumbling something she couldn't make.

"Be good." – And she left the apartment.

xxx

Callie managed to get back to the hospital in record time. She needed to if she wanted to catch her before the end of the shift. She looked around the cafeteria and spotted them two. They were standing over the exit, talking.

"Hey," – Callie greeted.

"Doctor Callie!" – Sloane hugged her, excitedly – "How you're doing? It's nice to see you!"

"Yeah, nice to see you too, you look very good!" – Callie hugged her back, smiling.

"Doctor Torres, hum… is Doctor Sloan okay?" – Lexie asked shyly.

"He's got a very nasty flu." – She braced herself for what she was going to ask – "Is your shift over? I mean, would you, hum… go to Mark's place and keep an eye on him for a few hours until my shift is over? He, hum... he shouldn't be left alone, he's pretty sick."

Lexie looked at Callie's pleading eyes. All her inner alarms went off but she also couldn't help the need to be with him. He was sick and alone, and she knew no one else would take care of him like she or Callie would. She would never hear the end of it but…

"My shift was over right before lunch. I suppose I can watch him for a few hours."

Her simple answer made Callie breath out in relief. She studied Lexie's reaction in curiosity. It was easy to tell she was worried about Mark and surely was eager to be with him but she was also very tense, as if she was doing something wrong. Callie wanted so bad for them to be okay again, she could easily stuck them together in a box until they sorted out whatever issue they still had.

"Look, I can see right through you." – Callie talked in a quiet tone so only Lexie could hear – "I know you're still in love with Mark and I know he's still head over hills for you. I can see how much you want to be with him right now but I can also feel your apprehension. I have…" – Callie looked at her pager – "five minutes. Now tell me, why is that?"

Lexie was taken aback from Callie's statement. The woman surely knew how to read people. Now how could she explain how she wasn't supposed to be anywhere near Mark Sloan and how messed up people believed she was with all the sulking and drinking and random crap she's been splashing away? How she was supposed to explain that she was – for all that matters – grounded, for as long as her sister and friends saw fit?

"You're rambling in thoughts, Lexie." – Callie stated, annoyed that the other wouldn't talk – "Okay, I'll tell you what. Don't worry about your sister. I won't tell her where you're gone to. You'll be safe from the lecture."

Sloane watched the exchange wide eyed. She had no idea things were still this strained between her father and Lexie. And 'what's with the lecture thing?' – She shook her head.

"Why would you be lectured for? Dude are you like grounded or something?" – Sloane asked in disbelief.

There it was. Lexie blushed a little bit more and Callie let out an infectious laughter.

"Yes, I am. By my sister. She thinks I should be like a mile away from Mark. Just because I was being pathetic for a while." – Lexie couldn't help but laugh at her own expense.

"Dude you're all so messed up it could be a soap!" – Sloane shook with laughter.

"And a really crappy one." – Callie retorted – "Well I really gotta go back to work. See you around kid, you take care." – She hugged the girl and turned to Lexie – "Will you get him a prescription for the flu? He has nothing at his place, not even aspirin, can you believe it? Men…"

"I'll take care of it." – Lexie nodded and turned to Sloane – "Well, see you next time. You can call me if you need anything, okay?"

"You bet." – Sloane pulled her into an embrace – "Later! And take good care of my dad. Tell him I said hi. I'll call him when I get home."

Callie and Lexie watched as the girl walked out. When Lexie turned to Callie she had a knowing smile at her face.

"She's changed." – Callie said – "I've heard she's going to college after the baby is born. That's something else, huh?"

"Yeah. She's really on to have a career and everything else…" – Lexie commented.

"And that's on you." – Callie spoke softly – "All the fighting and picking, and you telling her off about her slacking off… and just being yourself around her, it helped. She wants to make something out of her life and that's on you."

"What… why… no. No, that's… I'm… no, that's her doing. And her father. She has a brilliant father, it's only natural that she wants to be brilliant too." – Lexie stuttered, absolutely uncomfortable with Callie's words.

"Mark is a brilliant surgeon and a great guy, I totally agree with you on that. But he's not the one who changed her. You are. It's easy to see. She can't look up to her father, he's too far up on his life for her to reach. So she looks up to you. She looks up to you because you're so close in age it makes her see it's still possible for her to pursue a career if she makes an effort. She sees you studying, working hard, being brilliant and still being a girl, having fun and all. You represent something possible to her. Well, photographic memory and individual accomplishments aside, but she doesn't need to know that…"

Callie stopped talking when she saw Lexie's eyes glistening with unshed tears. Why, she thought, had she never been told how much potential she had? She was one of the good ones, best of her class actually. She smiled sympathetically at her.

"Okay I'll stop talking. Just thought you should know." – Callie took another look at her pager and went back to business mode – "Well let's get going. I'm already late. You take care of our Mark, okay? I'll see you later."

Lexie nodded and watched as the other doctor left the cafeteria. She spent most of her night thinking of ways to get her life back to normal but never had she thought about how one single six-hour-shift day could turn into this. Was it some kind of opportunity life was throwing at her? Could it be a test? She didn't know. She shrugged at her thoughts and decided to go get Mark's prescription already.

* * *

_Okay, so I've had some Callie/Lexie interaction here. I love Callie and I love the way she was always kind of shipping for Lexie and Mark, I mean, she was the first Slexie shipper alright! Now maybe in the next chapter I'll have them together... let's see. Thanks for reading, xoxoxo_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hello there! Here I am with another piece of this odd story. I'm immensely grateful for the reviews, you guys make my shiny day!_

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She should knock. Even though she had the key – Callie gave it to her back at the hospital – she shouldn't just let herself in like that. But if he was that sick as Callie pointed out he would probably be asleep. Maybe she should just make some noise and let herself in. Announce her arrival.

She fumbled with the keys until she found the familiar one. Then she knocked lightly and opened the door. The place was kind of dark as the curtains were closed but she saw him right away, lying at the couch.

"You didn't have to knock, you know?" – His hoarse voice made her jump.

"I…" – She stuttered, not really ready to deal with him awake – "I just… um… Doctor Torres… Callie sent me. To… to, um… keep an eye at you. Yeah. She's supposed to be back in a few hours, so…"

She stopped talking when she saw him shifting to a seating position. He had bloodshot eyes and a worn-out overall appearance but she somehow could see a hint of a smile on him. The smile that could be her death, by the way. She walked to him and sat at the coffee table, right in front of him.

"So, how are you feeling?" – She felt his cheek softly and her hand slipped a little, absently stroking his hair.

"I'm feeling sorry." – He spoke quietly.

She just looked at him, confused.

"I'm feeling sorry that I've lost you." – He said, flat out - "I feel awfully sorry that I've never asked you about how you wanted things to go between us. Then I lost you."

She stood up and walked to his kitchen. He watched her movements from his spot, knowing well enough to let her process his little speech. He had been practicing it since forever but never really thought the opportunity would arise for him to actually say it. He looked up again to see her seating beside him.

"You need to take this." – She handed him two pills and a glass half filled with water – "It's for the fever. You're running quite a temperature here." – She smiled warmly and stopped his hand – "No gulping. Sips. You really need to keep it down."

He swallowed both pills and took a few sips as she told. She kept looking at him intently. The initial weirdness seemed to be halfway gone now. He decided to resume his speech.

"I also feel glad, you know?" – He locked eyes with her again – "Because you came. I know I told Torres that I'd just sleep it off by myself but I'm glad she sent you." – He took one of her hands in his and smiled, glad that she didn't take it off – "And I meant it before. You didn't have to knock. I know it may feel weird because I've been nothing but a jerk to you lately but… I miss you, Lex. And you'll always be welcome into my space."

She looked down at their linked hands and sighed.

"Mark, you're running a fever. You should…" – She started, feeling the familiar pang in her heart but she needed to state their reality.

"This is not the fever talking. This is me, taking this opportunity." – He adjusted his position so he was now fully facing her – "I was intent on telling you this – me, being sorry for forcing my issues on you and expecting you to just ride along – since the… uh… well, when you told me about you and, um, Karev, I lost it. I know I was the biggest ass in the world because I had no right to judge you for something I've done so naturally my entire life. You were right, we cancelled each other, and you were ready to put everything in the past but I screwed things up by being a jerk. I had no right. That's one more thing I'm sorry for. I know I hurt you."

He brushed away her tears and sighed.

"I miss you, little Grey. I just… I needed to tell you how sorry I am for ruining our odds. It was so worth it and I just screwed it up."

She reached out and caressed his cheek once again, this time knowingly brushing his hair. He just closed his eyes, not really knowing what else to say.

"You know, when I woke up today I had my mind set on making things right with you. Either we were going to just get over everything and learn to coexist as colleagues or I was just, I don't know, off to somewhere else I guess." - Lexie blinked off the tears that kept coming - "I didn't expect you to talk to me like this. You… like, really talked to me and I'm so glad you did, Mark, really. Because… well, I miss you too. I miss you. But I suck at making the first move. And I suck even more at moving on." - She kissed his lips softly, pretty much the same way she did back when she broke up with him - "And just for the record, I still think it's worth it. Our odds, I mean."

"You… mean it?" - Mark smiled brightly, even though his whole body ached from the fever. She nodded and smiled through her remaining tears.

"Though I think you should get some sleep. In your bed, not on this couch." – She stood and pulled him up with her – "You need to give those pills a chance to take over this thing you've got. You're still burning in fever."

"Nah, I feel okay now…"

"You look drained out, Mark. Seriously, you need rest." – She made him lay down and covered him – "Sleep. I'll be right here."

**xxx**

"Where have you been?"

Lexie jumped in surprise at her sister's voice. Meredith was standing right behind her, hands on the hips.

"I… had something I had to do." – Lexie answered meekly.

"Okay." – Meredith eyed her sister gravely – "I was worried, your phone is off, maybe you forgot to charge it." – Meredith had a worried look in her face and Lexie caught it right away – "Look, we're having a family dinner. Hum… Mrs. Shepherd is coming and… oh for God's sake, I don't know what to do."

"You mean, you don't know what to do for dinner, right?" – Lexie asked, still confused.

"Kind of." – Meredith mumbled.

"Mere?" – Lexie looked intently at her sister's worried face – "Are you like, freaking out? Oh my God you are!" – Lexie tried to stifle a laugh for her sister's sake.

"Hey! Not funny!" – Meredith's annoyance made her sister laugh even more.

"Sorry…" – Lexie tried to compose herself – "I'm sorry. You can relax, you know? Mrs. Shepherd is a lovely woman. She already knows you and I'm sure everything is going to be just fine."

"Moms are very scary people." – Meredith countered – "And to you it's funny because you're not the one being watched by her."

Lexie sighed happily. It was time for her to do some sisterly duty for a change.

"Let's go Mere. First grocery shopping, then rock that kitchen of yours. Chicken or Pasta, what do you think?"

**xxx**

"Hey, sleepyhead…" – Callie tugged at his ear, earning a grunt as a response – "Come on, you need to wake up now."

"What?" – Mark took in his surroundings – "Where's Lexie?"

"She's gone for almost two hours now. You slept for five hours, Mark."

He groaned and shifted to a sitting position.

"Feeling any better?" – Callie felt his forehead – "No fever, that's good."

"I guess." – He looked around the bedroom – "Did, um… did Lexie say something before she left?"

"She said take care." – Callie informed, a funny smile in her lips – "Sloane said hello too. She called half an hour ago but you were still sleeping."

He just nodded. Callie studied him curiously. He was awfully quiet for her liking.

"Mark. Did something happen?" – She tried – "You and Lexie, did you get to talk?"

"Yeah." – He spoke quietly.

"Well?" – Callie raised an eyebrow – "Come on, spill. Did you guys sort things out already?"

"Kind of. I told her everything I needed to. And she told me pretty much everything she needed too, I guess."

"And? Where are we?"

"We're… I don't really know. I think we're fine, I mean… we kissed and she tucked me in but now she left and didn't say goodbye." – He looked helplessly at her.

"Stop. You're whining. She had to run back to the hospital because her sister seems to be keeping track of her every move." – Callie smiled at his frowny face – "Do you know anything about this? Derek told me you do."

"All I know is that they thought she was drinking too much and big Grey decided to play big sister. Got her grounded and everything."

"As if she was a damn kid." – Callie shook her head – "Oh, there's another thing! Derek sent you a message. He said 'tell Mark mom's in town for the week'."

Mark smiled mischievously at the thought.

"Torres… what's the appropriate amount of time to wait before you propose?"

"Wait… what?" – Callie looked at him, wide eyed.

"You think Mrs. Shepherd's gonna like little Grey?"

* * *

_see? I'm working on them getting back together! This one was short, I know, but I wanted to post it anyway, just for the sake of rhythm. Hope you guys like it! xoxoxo_


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